1 killed, others injured in two-vehicle crash in Kenai

A Kenai attorney was killed and several others were injured in a T-bone collision at the corner of Overland Avenue and Mission Avenue in Old Town Kenai Sunday night.

Peter Mysing, 59, was pronounced deceased on scene, according to Alaska State Troopers. Mysing, an attorney who specialized in defending drunk drivers, had a log cabin law office in Old Town Kenai near Petersen and Alaska avenues, not far from the scene of the crash.

The other injured were taken to Central Peninsula Hospital. They suffered non-life threatening injuries, according to troopers.Investigators say Mysing was riding front seat with driver Elias Cobb, 20, of Kenai, in his 2004 Ford Mustang, with Ryan Hobbs, 20, also of Kenai, sitting in back. A 2001 Ford F-350 truck, driven by Thomas Byers, 46; of Anchorage with front passenger Jason Ross, 36, of Kenai; and a 15-year old Kenai male in back, hit the Mustang on its side.

"The Mustang was pushed over the curb, hit a cluster of mailboxes continued to go across the yard and hit the side of a house and business," said Beth Ipsen, troopers spokesperson.

She said the truck overturned at least once and came to rest on its top.

Seatbelts were reportedly worn by all passengers, according to troopers. It was unknown if drugs or alcohol contributed to the collision.

Dennis Chapman, who lives above the tattoo shop in Old Town, said he was in his apartment at the time of the accident.

He said he heard a loud screech and the whole building shook.

When he looked to see what was going on he said he saw "people covered in blood crawling out of the vehicle."

Three people were not moving, he said.

"We didn't see where they were coming or where they were going," Chapman said. "We called 911."

Kenai police Sgt. Ben Langham said the call came in at 10:57 p.m. Kenai police immediately responded. Because of the fatality involved, the troopers' Bureau of Highway Patrol also responded and assumed the investigation.

Chapman's roommate Eric Spofford said it sounded like the two vehicles were drag racing.

"They were definitely racing," he said. "You could hear them racing."

Authorities asked Chapman and Spofford to evacuate their apartment for the night because there was structural damage from where the car crashed into the foundation.

According to troopers, the truck was heading east on Overland Avenue and the Mustang was traveling north on Mission Avenue, which is the wrong way on a one-way street.

Kenai police and the highway patrol closed the intersection near the Russian Orthodox Church for several hours while investigating the scene. The F-350 laid upside down on the lawn of the tattoo shop and the Ford Mustang was indented against the side of the building.

The post office cluster box was knocked out of its bolts and a file cabinet lay sideways in the middle of the road with empty files scattered on top of the asphalt.